Posts Tagged ‘concept car’

The Q45 Inspiration Concept may not show up in the Infiniti line-up but will influence future product design, officials said.

Infiniti has a long history of teasing us with exotic concepts that eventually translate into slightly more sedate production vehicles. So, what to make of the inspiring new fastback prototype making its debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit?

Have we finally gotten a glimpse of the long-awaited successor to the brand’s original halo car, the 1990 Q45? Or is the new Inspiration just there to tease us with hints of the direction Infiniti will take after a recent shake-up in corporate design management?

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“Our Detroit concept car heralds a new generation of Infiniti,” is all we’re getting from Alfonso Albaisa, the long-time Infiniti stylist who recently was named global design director for parent Nissan Motor Co. The Q Inspiration, he added, it meant to demonstrate Infiniti’s approach to “artistry in the new age of autonomy and breakthrough drivetrains.”

This rendering show the Rinspeed Snap's platform and passenger pod before docking.

Think of it as a sort of motorized Legomobile. Swiss think tank Rinspeed is known for coming up with creative – and sometimes wacky – concept vehicles and the one it plans to bring to the Consumer Electronics Show next month would allow a user to plug different bodies onto a flat, skateboard-like electric vehicle platform.

Rinspeed is by no means the first to adopt an essentially self-contained platform that could be used with a variety of different bodies. General Motors first revealed that concept more than a decade ago in the form of its hydrogen-powered Hy-Wire. And most modern electric vehicles now mount their batteries and other key components in or below the load floor.

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But the appropriately named Rinspeed Snap would allow the passenger compartment to separate from its electrified, autonomous platform and be used for other purposes. “(The) pod can even be useful when stationary,” says a release. “it can be anything from a variable shopping pod or a spacious camping pod to a cozy cuddling pod and even provide a breathtaking, fully connected user experience for the occupants of the passenger cabin. The sky is here the limit for the possible applications.”

Grand prix racer or classic Indy 500 entry? You might get to wondering when you get your first look at the Infiniti Prototype 9, especially if that happens out at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance next weekend.

But despite going to the world’s most famous classic car event to reveal one-seat racer, this is not a competitor to one of the original Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows. What Infiniti is calling “a journey back in time,” is actually a completely modern take, down to its fully electric drivetrain.

This concept will reappear next year as the completely redesigned Volvo XC40.

Volvo is in the midst of a complete brand makeover, and the automaker is giving us a hint of its next move in an aggressive, top-to-bottom product rollout with the unveiling of the new S40 and XC40 concepts.

Both models will mark a significant step forward, but not only for the Swedish automaker. In production, the next-gen Volvo XC40 and Volvo S40 models will ride on the maker’s all-new Compact Modular Architecture which is designed to be shared with Chinese parent Geely. It is, in fact, a key to Geely’s long-term goal to transform itself into a truly global automaker.

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“CMA has helped us to capture something special, something youthful in our new concept cars. They have an energy, a disruptive and engaging urban character that makes them stand out,” said Thomas Ingenlath, Volvo’s senior vice president of design.

The Opel GT Concept will make its formal debut at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show.

German-based Opel doesn’t have much visibility in the U.S. market, but it could generate quite a buzz here – as well as in the home European market – when it formally unveils its new GT Concept at the Geneva Motor Show early next month.

The original Opel GT, dating back to the 1970s, was one of the few – and last – models imported under that brand name, though Opel designs have since made it across the Atlantic and shared with sibling General Motors brands. The old Saturn Astra and the new Buick Cascada convertible are two examples.

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The new Opel GT Concept harkens back to the original 2-seat sports car concept, the Opel Experimental GT, of 1965. It was followed a year later by the Vauxhall XVR from Opel’s British twin. A production version went on for a five-year run, from 1968 to 1973.

Even if Avista doesn't make it to production, it's likely to influence the brand's future designs. Avista photos by Len Katz.

Of the dozens of new cars, trucks, crossovers and concept vehicles to make their debut at this year’s North American International Auto Show, perhaps none has generated as much buzz as the Buick Avista.

The striking 2+2 show car got a special preview the night before the auto show’s official media preview began and has continued to draw crowds since the 2016 NAIAS opened its doors to the public with a splashy black tie charity preview last Friday.

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To turn a popular movie cliché on its head, if they come, will GM build it? That was a question TheDetroitBureau.com has posed to a number of senior General Motors executives, including President Dan Ammann. But for those who might be ready to plunk down a deposit, the news isn’t good.

The winged Firebird III concept car was one of several GM developed to showcase turbine power.

Is it back to the future…or forward into the past?

The new Disney movie, Tomorrowland, sets actor George Clooney out on a search for a secret location caught between time and space. And among the discoveries they make when they get there are a collection of classic General Motors concept vehicles, including the jet-powered Firebird III and the Space Age Astro II.

Always Looking Ahead!

“Tomorrowland is a place where nothing is impossible, which is something that Chevrolet believes can exist in the here and now,” Tim Mahoney, vice president, Global Chevrolet, said when announcing GM’s participation in the Disney flick – which also showcases several modern vehicles including the next-generation Chevy Volt.

What you see with the Lincoln Continental Concept is largely what you'll get with the production model.

The Lincoln Continental, once one of the most elegant and widely respected vehicles in the U.S. luxury market, is making its return. And the concept version set to make its first public appearance at the New York International Auto Showwill return in production form next year, a senior Lincoln executive has advised TheDetroitBureau.com.

The show car version not only will introduce such luxury features as “laser-assist” high beams, but also will reveal what company officials are calling “the new face of Lincoln.”

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“The concept is a pretty strong hint of what the production vehicle will look like,” Lincoln President Kumar Galhotra said during a Sunday night interview. The road-ready version, he added, will reach U.S. showrooms “sometime in the 2016 calendar-year.”

Audi's Allroad Shoot Brake concept may have observers wondering what it is: crossover, sport utility or station wagon?

Automakers seem to take delight in delivering new designs that don’t fall into any handy category. The idea is to find new “white space” that the competition hasn’t thought up yet. And that seems to be what Audi has in mind with the Allroad shooting brake it will formally unveil this week at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The luxury maker alternately refers to the concept vehicle as a “crossover” and a “shooting brake,” a British term that usually translates into “wagon.” We can understand Audi’s reluctance to use that term, particularly in the U.S., where station wagons are anathema to most buyers. But call it what you will, the Allroad shooting brake concept picks up on the more sporty, wagon-esque stance that is quite popular in Europe and many other parts of the world. And it just might be handsome enough to click with American buyers, as well.

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It better. Audi’s tech director, Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, suggests the show car is “offering very concrete glimpses of the near future.” In other words, expect to see it in production in the very near future. (more…)

With the launch of the new ATS small car, Cadillac is beginning the most expansive product roll-out in its history, according to senior officials with the General Motors luxury brand – a risky but potentially lucrative effort that is likely to bring the launch of several new “flagship” models to challenge the likes of the BMW 7-Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

Designer Clay Dean with the Cadillac Ciel concept.

While Cadillac won’t try to go product-for-product with its fast-expanding German rivals, the U.S. luxury maker recognizes it has to rapidly expand its meager line-up to remain competitive. And after years of hesitation, it appears that top GM management is finally freeing up the financial resources necessary to accomplish that long-delayed goal, TheDetroitBureau.com has learned.

Caddy will begin to fill the various “white spaces” in its line-up over the next several years, numerous officials confirmed, speaking both on the record and on background. That includes a much-needed compact crossover targeting one of the fastest-growing segments in the luxury market. But one of the more surprising plans falling into place, TheDetroitBureau.com was told, was the idea of rolling out several different flagship models that would target both “foundational” and “aspirational” niches in the premium luxury segment.

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“These are fun, happy times at Cadillac,” said Don Butler, Cadillac’s top marketing executive, during a dinner session prior to this past weekend’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. “We’re expanding and elevating the brand.”